Time Will Tell
by Utterchaos37
Summary: Percy wasn't surprised that he was dying. Was he pissed? Yeah, he decided he was pretty mad, for a multitude of reasons. Was he sad? To an extent yes. He had worked hard to reach where he is, and now all hope is lost. But he was not surprised. But death is not the end for Percy, not that he knows that (yet). Fic focused on Time Travel. Pairings undecided.
1. Chapter 1

**Currently writing this instead of studying or doing actual coursework (or working on ACA like I should as it's been a while since I last updated that story) but I had the idea so I decided to at least start writing something so I may have somewhat of a posting schedule and actually finished stories that more people can read. Hope you guys like this, I've thought about this concept for a while so yeah. This is the first chapter of Time Will Tell, I wouldn't expect an update very soon, but I may surprise myself and find some motivation. Pairing(s) will be decided later on, and it's probably gonna be left up to you guys. Hope you enjoy, remember to follow and favorite and check out some of my other stories too. I get bored with working on one thing for a prolonged period of time sometimes and will pick up on some of my other stories in an attempt to avoid writer's block. Anyway, I own nothing and all rights go to Rick Riordan. Let's get on with the story!**

Percy wasn't surprised that he was dying. Was he pissed? Yeah, he decided he was pretty mad, for a multitude of reasons. Was he sad? To an extent yes. He had worked hard to reach where he is, and now all hope is lost. But he was not surprised. Some lowly teenage demigod facing the King of the Titans and the titan with what may be one of the most powerful domains really didn't have a chance in the long run- no matter how phenomenal of a demigod he was.

After several minutes of fighting the Titan King, Luke's body had been burnt up by the divine presence within it, and with the loss of Kronos's mortal coil, he had continually grown stronger. Percy would wager that most of the gods would struggle to keep up as well as he had till this point, of course, the curse of Achilles had carried him this far, and he no longer had that crutch to rely on. The last hope he did have was to stall for as long as possible and hope that the combined might of the council could once again prevail against Kronos.

But his time was running shorter by the moment. His grandfather had begun pushing even harder, and time in the room had become non-Euclidian, and no longer made sense. For all he could tell only a handful of seconds have passed, or a few hours, he could no longer tell. Each moment furthered the fatigue that continually weighed down Perseus was entirely vexed by Kronos; In the end, there was nothing short of a miracle that would save him now.

"Growing tired Grandson?" The mad titan mocked as _Backbiter_ slammed down onto _Riptide_ shaking Percy's weak arms. Both hands gripped the sword as the dark-haired man pushed onto his descendant. "You could make this easy for yourself and give in now, I will give you the luxury of a quick and _somewhat_ painless death"

Percy didn't respond as he angled _Riptide_ to shrug off the blade. Taking a wild swing as he stepped back he put distance between the dueling pair, Percy began slowly circling the Titan while he caught his breath.

"It's admirable that you have lasted this long Grandson, but there is little you can do, you will lose, just look at yourself." Kronos gestured at Percy's arms, crisscrossed in cuts, the curse of Achilles failing him after Annabeth had confessed her love to Luke before the titan king burnt up his mortal host. Percy looked over at the slumped form of Annabeth in the corner. Not only had Luke's death broken her, but the Titan king had put her out of commission with a swift backhand soon after, still her chest rose with labored breaths. As he looked at his arms he could almost see his mortality coming as his blood seeped to the floor. Wisps of white were oozing from his wounds, especially the deep gouge in his stomach. Despite this, Percy still stood straight, sword outstretched placing himself firmly between Annabeth and the thrones, and Kronos. Ready for the conflict to continue. The titan wasted no time in swinging sharply at the young demigod's face, only to be deflected, but not without thinly cutting Percy's cheek.

"I know that I can't beat you, you don't have to tell me that Kronos. It isn't about winning or losing, all that matters is me, taking you on. Right here; right now." Percy said as he wiped the blood from his cheek. As he gave his short speech, the hearth behind him had begun to swell, sensing the small amount of hope that his speech alone gave the pantheon.

"Each moment I grow stronger Perseus, it was slow before, but it has begun to speed up, you may have already realized. Let me give you a short history lesson Grandson, you probably don't know much about the first Titanomachy, but it lasted centuries, and my loss came due to my mother's interference, but her favor is fickle, and the gods lost it soon after my defeat. I hold her favor now and have taken precautions to ensure that I will hold it. Even if you succeed in your futile intent to hold me off for your precious gods to arrive, by the time they get here one of two things will happen. Typhon will have dealt with the gods, proving to be too strong, or I will have reached full power, and none of these children can stand to my power. I was not chosen to be the Titan King purely because I was the one to kill our father, but because I was the fittest for the job." As he spoke, he spun _Backbiter_ in his hand. The blade turned from a hand-and-a-half sword into the infamous scythe that was his symbol of power. "It was a valiant attempt, but you lost as soon as the weakling I inhabited had died, now it is time to finish this exercise in futility." At the end of his speech, he struck out precisely with the scythe, forcing Percy back closer to the thrones. If Percy could have said they had been on somewhat equal footing and that his struggle had been something of a fight he no longer could. He was on a full defensive at this point.

The only sound in the throne room remained to be the sounds of battle outside and the clanging of metal. Every second, Percy could feel defeat creeping closer and closer. He could feel the heat of the hearth on his back, at this point, Percy had realized that he was the last line of defense. If Percy didn't do something now, the second Titanomachy will commence and the world as a whole will be in for a rough couple of centuries.

While he may have had a small reputation of being _somewhat_ of a gullible idiot archetype hero, Percy was anything but dumb. Was he the sharpest minded in the world? No, and Percy would never claim this title, but he was far from stupid. The increasingly dangerous game of cat-and-mouse the two were playing had to end at some point; the thought of reinforcements had abandoned Percy, so he had to come up with something on the fly.

In a quick motion, Percy swiped _Riptide_ up hard into the scythe, while little had happened, the blade had caught the underside and held it firmly. With his other hand, Percy moved some of the water from the aquarium that once held Bessie. The water proved to be a brief respite for him, healing what it could before Percy blasted Kronos in the face with it. As the titan stumbled back slightly Percy leaped back, basically pressing himself against the flames of the hearth, his paternity protecting him from the burning heat that the bright fire had put off. Within the brief few seconds, he had bought himself the Titan King had recovered and had begun to swing his deadly blade down, whistling as it went. Before the scythe could hit him, Percy flung _Riptide_ as hard as he could, and the blade found its home lodged firmly in his grandfather's hip. Weaponless, all Percy could do to prevent his immediate death by the scythe was to lift his left arm over his head.

Kronos let out a grunt as his blade severed through Percy's arm, and the sharp pain of _Riptide_ had begun to burn in his side. Somewhat preoccupied with the blade in his hip, he was rendered surprised when his weapon was wrenched from his hand and thrown into the heart behind the dying demigod in front of him. Even with one hand missing, the demigod proved to be a nuisance for the titan. Percy had let little more than a sharp groan escape his lips, his fortitude reinforced by the adrenaline boost that numbed the pain.

"All you managed to do was prolong your death and lose your weapon." Kronos had pulled the blade from his hip and turned it on its owner. The sword glowed an unearthly golden color as he lifted it, stained with the golden ichor that flowed through his veins. "This won't be coming back to you as it normally does, and I plan to make this **_hurt_**."

Percy didn't scream when his hand was cut off at the forearm, but he did when his own blade was put into his stomach, glowing with a bright energy that Percy had never seen before.

"I will burn your soul out of you, the fields of punishment would be kinder than where what's left of you will end up going." Kronos poured his own power into the blade as he pushed deep into Percy. The glowing coming from his stomach grew, as the white energy coming from his wounds poured out even faster. Kronos's moment of victory would be surprisingly short-lived though. While the Titans turned the blade against its owner, Percy reached behind him, he grabbed the white-hot blade of Kronos's scythe. "Even only lasting a minute and twenty-seven seconds against me in my true form is astounding grandson, especially for a mortal. Any last words before I finish this?"

Percy mumbled something, hot blood dribbling from his lips creating a gurgling sound.

"Care to repeat yourself, I couldn't quite catch that over the sound of your impending death," the titan of time said as he leaned closer to the dying son of Poseidon.

**_"For Olympus"_** Those would be the last words the demigod vocalized, as he pulled himself closer to his grandfather, further impaling himself on Riptide cementing his death, but getting close enough to shove the white-hot blade of the scythe up into the underside of Kronos's head, piercing straight into the titans skull, as far as to reach his brain. Both of the combatants fell to the ground, their lives dually fading.

_"It wasn't what I wanted to happen, but at least I saved them,"_ the dying demigod thought, as he looked at the prone form of Annabeth through the flames of the hearth that his head now laid in. _"they'll be safe now. It was worth it."_ His introspection had been interrupted as hot tears landed on his face, but not tears of his own.

"Rest now, hero, you have earned it, you deserve the peace that will come to you soon," Hestia said, the demigod's head now resting in her lap. "You saved the Hearth Perseus, and with it our family, and for that, we are forever in your debt." The tears running down her face had steadily picked up as she watched the demigod in her lap struggle to breathe. The damage that had been done to his body was more than even Apollo could remedy. Her tears were stopped by Percy's right hand coming up and slowly brushing away the wet glittering diamonds the teardrops had made on her cheek.

No words came from the demigod, but the firm shake of his head conveyed his message. Hestia nodded, gently holding his hand as he began to slip away.

This was the scene the gods returned to, ready for a fight where there was none. The last thing Percy saw before his eyes slid shut was the watery smile his father gave him, filled with pride.

[THIS IS A LINE BREAK]

Percy had expected a lot of things from the afterlife in the underworld. After all, he had been there a number of times in his short tenure as the child of the prophecy. Of everything Percy had expected, the warm and soft feeling that enveloped him was not one of them. Furthermore, he was lying supine, something that should not have been possible for a spirit arriving at DOA studios. The reality of his situation was fully realized when he heard an alarm going off, and his eyes snapped open once again. It took only a few moments before Percy had realized where he currently lay. His hands hurriedly ripped the sheets off of his body, before he looked down and realized he still had both hands, but they looked smaller and less rugged. The room around him resembled his dorm room from Yancy, complete with his lazily hidden contraband sweets under the bed. Rushing to find a mirror, Percy looked into it, only to see his twelve-year-old self staring back at him.

"What the fuck is going on."

**WELL, THAT WAS EVENTFUL. I have started working on the next chapter, but I do try to keep them long (if not make them longer as I go). As a newly recent 18 year old with no free time my update schedule will be extreemly random. If you guys are coming from A Champion Arises I want you to Know I haven't given up on it or anything, just a small amount of writers block in multiple parts of the next chapter. I also have a slightly niche story coming soon to a different community with not nearly enough stories, and most of you guys probably won't like it, but if you like my writing you might check it out when it does drop. I'm kind of doing this thing for myself as an outlet in a way anyway so I write what I feel like sometimes. I'm something of a depressed dude sometimes and writing helps. In other words, Hey it's your author and welcome to my therapy session. I digress. Thanks for reading and favoriting/following See you guys in the next one. I really do appreciate the nice comments on my last story guys.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm writing multiple stories right now, in an attempt to avoid writer's block but I'm naturally lazy and it's an inevitability. You can probably notice when it hits cause I try to think things out completely and I don't sometimes (like this entire sentence wth). To the person who reviewed on why I paired Annabeth and Luke for the original portion was mostly due to wanting to focus less on their relationship in the past/future and more on Percy becoming stronger. Depending on where the story goes that paring could change. I for one like Percy/Annabeth along with many other Percy pairings with a lot of the female characters Rick made, frankly I think writing a compelling story is more important than who wants to bang who. SO yeah just kind of seeing where it goes. Oh well, on with the chapter! I don't own anything, all rights go to Riordan.**

**CHAPTER 2:**

_Percy's internal freak out was not slowing down. Everything around him felt real. This wasn't any part of the underworld he was aware of unless it was some form of punishment, and if it was it was lazy at best. He didn't exclusively hate school, per se__, and while they weren't the best years of his life, it would be kind of a shit punishment, but it was currently near the top of the list he was rushing to create in his mind to explain what was happening. The second explanation he could come up with was that the last four years of his life had been a dream. Neither option helped relax Percy out of his panic._

As his eyes darted around the room, Percy took note of the agglomeration of half-full water bottles in the room (a bad habit he never got over), reaching out as he had done innumerable times before and felt the familiar tug as three of the less empty bottles exploded spectacularly and covered his hands in translucent gloves. As the water seeped into his hands, his heartbeat slowed down slightly. _"Well it wasn't some fever dream, but that just created more questions than answers. If anything I feel stronger now than I did before my death, what is going on? I did die right?"_ It wasn't until he heard the voice behind him that he realized he was no longer alone.

"Yes Perseus it is true, you did die, but here you stand now, alive once again." A female voice spoke, causing him to turn around, only to see the three fates, Atropos, if he wasn't mistaken, was the one speaking first. Their forms shimmered and shifted, starting off similar to the first time he spotted them, being three old ladies, and shifting to beautiful young women dressed in ancient Greek clothing.

"Mostly by our doing in fact." the one in the middle, Lachesis spoke next, "Although our effort was greatly eased by Kronos's hubris, pouring his own power into you allowed us to alter fate in the way that we have."

Clotho was the one who spoke next "Kronos cheated fate. He was not supposed to win, in fact, many events that stood to unfold that day were not meant to happen. You likely saved all of the mythological world and more with your actions. Unfortunately, without you, your sacrifice would have been wasted. You not only play a key role in the new Titanomachy and Gigantomachy but in the fate of this planet itself."

Atropos began to speak again "The future that we pulled you from was bleak, many died that were not supposed to, but we stand to change that, through you."

"A great evil approaches, there is a chain of events that **_must_**be set in motion. You will be the one to do so. We've done more than send you back in time, we have made you a champion of fate. If Kronos will cheat us, along with most of Chaos's ancient laws, then we will retaliate and you will be the counterweight we use to rebalance fate." Lachesis spoke once more as her sisters nodded next to her, their form focusing on the ancient Greek style strongly as she spoke.

"Fate has decreed that Kronos will fail, and he will do all he can to avoid this. Other beings have taken notice, stronger beings than him. His meddling with time has caused those who safeguard the sacred concept a great deal of anger." Atropos said as she gestured towards her sister, Lachesis.

In the Moirai of Life's hands was an orb, it glowed as soft greyish-gold colored and pulsed with an ethereal energy. "Our mother, Ananke, and Chronos, the original one was instructed us to give you this power to set right his wrongs. It was entrusted to us long ago, a portion of their power for the champion of fate, a strength that won't fail you or leave until you have finished what fate and destiny has in store for you. Kronos will not get away with the abuse to the system he has utilized to secure the rise to power he succeeded in before. This war will not go his way, and with this we ensure it." As she finished he statement the energy shot from her hands, combined with the smaller streams from the Moirai themselves.

As the energy entered Percy he was reminded of many of the more painful experiences of his first life. Most prominently holding the sky and taking a dip in the Styx. While both of those experiences were more painful than what he was currently going through, the blessing he was receiving was definitely up there in level of pain. All of his nerves were aflame, and each passing moment the pain compounded. The pressure he was putting on his teeth as he clenched them as to not shout in pain would make any dentist cringe and recommend a vigorous tooth care routine. It wasn't long till the pain had grown to an overwhelming level, making even losing his arm to Kronos feel like a pinch in comparison. As the energy was absorbed into his very being he could feel himself fading once again, death like an old friend welcoming him into its embrace a second time.

"We expected that your body would give out before your spirit would young hero. It's quite admirable that you have lasted this long, you are full of surprises Perseus, though death, in this case, is once again, an inevitability. But it will not affect the blessing, either way, you will wake up again and be in a much better position to face the evils that threaten our very existence." Percy was struggling to maintain consciousness, and he had no clue which of the fates were speaking any longer. Each passing moment just led to him slipping further into the warm embrace of death.

"Preparations are being made on multiple fronts young one. We're not the only beings trying to ensure victory. The experiences before you now are going to be much different than that they were your first time around. If you would take one piece of advice we recommend that you embrace the change, and do not shy away from mistakes. Seek out the things that make you strong, and the rest will come."

As Percy fell to his knees, the voices of the Moirai faded in and out of his ears. The pain may have been fading but the young body his mind had re-inhabited was not fit for the abuse that it was currently handling. Snippets of the conversation happening above him pierced the veil of confusion and pain like a ship would water, but in his current state of near intoxication on the pain of the blessing, much of it made less than no sense to the dying demigod. The Fates may have been speaking at the same level as they had the rest of the conversation, but they may well have been whispering in a crowded nightclub to Percy.

_"He is fading quickly now… it will not be long before the next reset… unsure who will remember, will we even… artifacts to seek out… it is up to them and him in the end..."_

_"He has been given the power to change fate, and he will find the tools to do so, the question is will he…"_

With his musings and suffering cut short once again, Percy was enveloped into the darkness once again.

[THIS IS A LINE BREAK]

Waking up back at Yancy the first time around had been quite disorienting for Percy, and while dying would have a strong effect on anyone, especially dying more than once. In fact, many people have been driven up the wall due to seeing the beyond and coming back. He could probably attribute the lack of strong mental and physical backlash to the fates interference, that being said he still shot out of his bed at the speed of a rocket on it's way to the moon. He took quick stock of his room as he gathered his bearings. The water bottles he had used previously to ensure that he hadn't imagined the last four years of his life sat where they had been before he had defiled them and emptied their contents.

Once again he reached out, not with his hand, but in spirit. Feeling the familiar tug in his gut as the water from multiple bottles rose out to meet him, his control over the element almost to a mastery level. It felt even easier than the previous time. He molded the water into a set of translucent armor and held out his right hand. In said hand, he made a near exact copy of Riptide, it was even balanced perfectly. _Well, we know my memory still holds up. I wonder what happened to my sword?_ An image of the blade glowing with Kronos' power flashed at the forefront of his mind once again, and as the memory flashed through his mind his concentration wavered. The pain of his primary weapon being turned against him burned brightly in his mind. The water surrounding him splashed to the floor suddenly, drenching some scattered papers and causing Percy to let loose a string of curses. With a short flick of his wrist the water shot back up, traveling up his legs and covering his body completely, the water melded against his skin and sank into it. Fully waking up the demigod, and gave him the focus he needed to move from the memories of his defeat. Without even thinking on it he evaporated the excess water and dried himself completely.

He caught his reflection in the mirror, and while his mastery over his primary element was as strong (if not stronger) as ever, his physical body was nowhere near the level it was prior to the first time he had bit the dust. This was no surprise, twelve-year-old Percy wasn't exactly concerned with physical fitness by any stretch of the term.

_Well, there is definitely work to be done, and plans to be made, but where to start._

Once again Percy's inner monologuing was interrupted by someone else. Although this time it was someone much more welcome in his book and a lot less divine.

"Yo Perce you're up early today, I didn't even hear your alarm go off." Grover's voice was a very good one to hear. The turmoil within Percy was calmed immensely by hearing it alone. The goofy Satyr wasn't the most successful or powerful or smart. But Grover was reliable and kind, he always could count on him till the end. As Percy looked at him he was reminded on just how much he had changed in the four years he had known of his heritage. The wispy hair that was the start of facial hair had filled out to a goatee before he had been thrust back in time, and the horns he hid under his rasta cap would have been prominent if they were as large now as they were then, or is it will be? Either way, Percy had not realized just how much his best friend had grown until he had seen him even only this much younger again.

He remembered the last time he had seen the satyr, it simultaneously felt like a lifetime ago and mere moments, and depending on how you look at it, it was both. He had left Annabeth and Percy to help Thalia after the statue had landed on her leg and to defend her in the case that any stragglers in the titan's forces had come upon the indisposed Huntress. It had only been minutes since he last saw him, yet at the same time, he had died twice.

"Hellllllooooo Percy, you in there man?"

"Sorry G-man, you're right it _is_ really early, I must not be completely up yet." Percy lied as he snapped out of the reminiscing.

"Yeah, you should take a shower, those always tend to wake you right up" Percy let out a silent sigh as Grover took his excuse at face value. While Percy was never the best liar, Grover trusted him much too quickly and it wasn't till the empathy link could he really tell when Percy wasn't being honest with him. "Anyway, I just came to wake you up. I wanted to remind you we have a pre-algebra test today" Percy involuntarily shivered at the memory of his first real monster encounter," and that told me that you have to turn your essay in before you can go on the museum trip with the class. He said he would make an exception and give you an extension on account of your ADHD and Dyslexia, but if you want to go it needs to be done before class tomorrow."

"Oh yeah, thanks, Grover. I'm gonna take your advice and go ahead and get that shower out of the way so I can start the day off right."

"Alright Perce, and please try not to piss Mrs. Dodds off today, sometimes I think she wants to bite your head off."

"No promises G-man," Percy said with a chuckle as he grabbed a towel, "Its fun to see the old bat pissed sometimes. It's not like I am risking physical harm right? Plus its fun to see you squirm when she shoots her death stare our way, it's like your some scared goat or something"_ Oh I am having too much fun with this._ Percy finished with another laugh as he snatched his soap from the desk. He turned and looked at Grover who was more pale than most of the ghosts he had seen in the underworld on his first quest.

"Anyway Grover, I got a busy day in front of me, lots of things are going down soon so I'll see you in class, cool?"

"Uhh y-yeah Percy, I'll see you there, just… just be careful man." Grover responded, nervously chewing his lip as his eyes darted around the room as if looking for the mythical creature that was about to jump from the shadows to strike Percy down for his comments

"Ah come on Grover, what is the worse that could happen? It's not like some mythological beast is gonna come busting down the doors to get me, and even if they did, I'm sure Mr. Brunner would come gallantly in like a knight on a horse and save the day with that sword of his." At this, the Satyr became even paler if that was possible at this point. Percy shot him a wink as a wide smile spread across his face.

The smile hadn't left Percy's face, even after he had left the room. While the mission he was on was serious there was no harm in a little fun, and teasing Grover had to be one of his favorite pastimes. After all, all work and no play is just as detrimental as no work and all play, gotta keep morale up somehow. It was all in good jest, and while it was kind of mean, Grover is just as oblivious as he had been at the same age. Percy would make it up to him sometime, after all, he planned on ensuring the whole "marrying my cyclops half-brother" situation was thoroughly avoided and the golden fleece was secured before it could cause more trouble. While he wasn't sure what his full plan was, there were things to be set in motion and he had an essay to finish (with the addition of making sure to focus much more on just how awesome Posideon is and how much of a blowhard Zeus actually is, after all, it couldn't hurt to tease Chiron some too and drop a few hints here and there about the nature of his existence.) The one thing he needed was a weapon, and he felt naked without one, even if he was more than proficient in his powers. _Some things were right the first time around, and who am I to impede on the natural progress of things._

**I think that's a decent stopping point for this chapter. I'm not exactly sure where I'm planning to go with this story honestly but hey, we're all going on this ride together. I do have some plans for the immediate future and it's not like I'm making it up as I go. There have been drafts that I have made and already shot down (they might show up in different stories I write if I feel like it- or have the time). Anywho, I appreciate the traffic on the story already, and as you can tell I will update. I might not be consistent but I plan on finishing what I start. So as always, rate, review and make sure to drop a favorite and follow. I'm not doing this for clout, but I know a lot of people sort by favorites and follows and I want to reach a lot of people so those help me do that a lot. Either way, I plan on continuing to write even if it is only for the eleven of you guys following it right now. But cause I probably won't update again in a while ****_I really do recommend following_**** so you know when an update does come (this is for people like me who read it but haven't made an account yet, just do it guys the email alerts are actually really nice and I don't have to keep checking monthly if the authors I like have posted anything).**


End file.
